1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lock or clip for keeping the amplifier cable of a musical instrument from being accidentally pulled out.
2. Description of Related Art
Many musical instruments today have provision for connection to an amplifier via an electrical cable or cord. For example, an electric guitar generally has to be connected to an amplifier which amplifies the signal produced by the guitar into a signal that car be used to drive loud speakers. The guitar is connected to the amplifier by an amplifier cord which has a plug at its end. The plug is plugged into a special socket which is built into the guitar or the pickup in the case of an electrified acoustic guitar.
It is common practice for a player or musician playing the guitar to walk around on the stage upon which the musician is performing. If the musician is walking about on the stage and he or she steps on the amplifier cable or if the amplifier cable gets caught on some other object such as other musical instruments, steps, microphone stand, etc., then the amplifier plug can be accidentally pulled out of the guitar's socket causing an interruption in the music being heard by the audience. Also a performer moving about on the stage can trip on the amplifier cable attached to another performer's instrument, such as a keyboard, guitar, etc., causing that instrument's amplifier cable to be unplugged from that instrument. Needless to say, this would be a very embarrassing situation for the performer.
For this reason, cable or cord locks that prevent an amplifier plug from being accidentally pulled out of a musical instrument, in particular a guitar, have been proposed in the art. However, cable locks thus far proposed are not entirely satisfactory because they are limited in application to those guitars having nonrecessed sockets, and these cable locks are difficult and time consuming to install on the instrument and/or to remove from the instrument. Therefore, the need persists in the art for a more practical and easy to apply musical instrument cable lock.
Examples of previously proposed musical instrument cable locks can be found among the references cited below. The other references cited below relate in general to accessories for use with guitars.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,728,959, issued to John D. O'Rorke on Mar. 17, 1998, shows a guitar tuner holder which includes a base capable of being clamped to a microphone stand. The base has a hook-and-loop fastener portion which engages a complementary hook-and-loop fastener portion which is adhesively secured to the guitar tuner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,874, issued to Peter C. Kraus, et al. on Apr. 1, 1997, shows a training aid for teaching the proper stance while playing a guitar in the seated position. The training aid includes a belt and a plurality of cords that extend from the belt to the guitar.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,524, issued to Dennis Sanner, et al. on Dec. 10, 1996, shows a cord lock for preventing two cords that are plugged together from being pulled apart. One cord terminates in a plug and the other cord terminates in a socket. The cord lock has a base with an eyelet at each end. A loop from, each cord is placed through a respective eyelet and placed around a respective hook member projecting from the base in order to prevent accidental tugs on the cords from pulling apart the plug and socket.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,399, issued to Kenneth S. Davenport on Sep. 8, 1992, shows a cord lock for keeping the amplifier cord of an electric guitar from being accidentally pulled out. The cord lock of Davenport includes a support collar that fits under the lock nut securing the guitar amplifier socket in place. A leg having a plurality of holes is pivotally attached to the support collar. A clamp, which clamps to the amplifier cord behind the amplifier plug, is secured to the leg in order to keep the amplifier plug in place. The cord lock of Davenport only works with guitar amplifier sockets which are not recessed in the body of the guitar. Further, the cord lock of Davenport requires, at least, the disassembly of the guitar amplifier socket for its installation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,300, issued to Martin D. Silverman on Jul. 7, 1992, shows a guitar pick holder that can be attached to the head stock of the guitar and can hold a plurality of picks. The guitar pick holder of Silverman includes a pair of resilient, opposing, parallel strips that grip each pick in between one another.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,490, issued to John Raymond Oskar on May 23, 1972, shows a microphone holder that clamps to a guitar.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,319, issued to Lloyd A. Erickson on May 2, 1972, shows an adhesive wire routing clip. The Erickson device includes a base portion having a pair of hook-like projections.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,570, issued to Luther D. Lester on Mar. 5, 1968, shows a guitar support having a pair of belt clips that can support the guitar on the guitar player's belt, thus eliminating the need for a guitar sling.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,237,502, issued to Semie A. Moseley on Mar. 1, 1966, shows a stringed instrument with a tuning system which works either by adjusting the heights of the string guides above the sounding board or by moving the string guides parallel to the strings.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,292,545, issued to Charles B. Wanamaker on Jan. 28, 1919, shows a specially designed hook having a roller bearing for firmly securing a drum hoop to a drum.
U.S. Design Patent Number Des. 360,427, issued to John D. Gracie on Jul. 18, 1995, shows a guitar holder for a musical instrument stand.
U.S. Design Patent Number Des. 337,345, issued to John D. Gracie on Jul. 13, 1993, shows a stand for supporting a guitar.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.